Brock Purdy vs J.J. McCarthy: Who Should You Start?
Brock Purdy and J.J. McCarthy are at different tiers heading into 2026. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback averaged 20.8 PPG in 2025, a full 7.1 points per game ahead of J.J. McCarthy's 13.7 with the Minnesota Vikings. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
Brock Purdy carries a 7.1-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Both lean on arm talent and offensive scheme as traditional pocket passers. Brock Purdy threw for 2167 yards and 20 touchdowns, while J.J. McCarthy posted 1632 yards and 11 scores. Volume, red zone efficiency, and game script are the key week-to-week differentiators when neither carries rushing upside.
Brock Purdy has his bye in Week 9, and J.J. McCarthy rests in Week 6. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at quarterback for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
